Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
316080-2
ILLUMINATOR SYSTEM WITH ADJUSTABLE FRAME
BACKGROUND
[0001] This disclosure relates generally to an illuminating equipment,
and more
particularly to an illuminator system with an adjustable frame and an
adjustable frame for
mounting an illuminator.
[0002] When mounting a downlight, we open a hole on the ceiling, and put
a
mounting frame with an opening above the ceiling. Then, a downlight is mounted
into the
opening of the mounting frame. The downlight comprises two resilient retainers
provided
on the opposite sides thereof to retain the downlight on the edge of the
opening.
[0003] However, when the opening is larger than the requirement of the
downlight,
the resilient force of the two resilient retainers on both sides will be
uneven, which will
lead to the failure of the spring of the resilient retainer. Another drawback
of this is that
there will be an uneven gap between the trim of the downlight and the ceiling,
and there
may be daylights passing out, when the trim of the downlight cannot cover the
opening.
Furthermore, the resilient retainer easily slides after installation, which
will create an ugly
appearance of this product.
[0004] Therefore, it is desirable to provide a solution to this problem.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
[0005] In one embodiment, the present disclosure provides an illuminator
system,
which comprises an adjustable frame comprising a panel having an opening
therein,
defining an edge around the opening, and a frame member slidably mounted on
the edge
of the opening to move inward and backward so as to adjust a size of the
opening; and an
illuminator for being mounted inside the opening.
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[0006] In another embodiment, the present disclosure provides an
adjustable frame
comprising a panel having an opening therein, defining an edge around the
opening, and a
frame member slidably mounted on the edge of the opening to move inward and
backward
so as to adjust a size of the opening.
DRAWINGS
[0007] These and other features and aspects of the present disclosure
will become
better understood when the following detailed description is read with
reference to the
accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout
the
drawings, wherein:
[0008] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an illuminator system in
accordance with an
embodiment;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an adjustable frame in accordance
with an
embodiment;
[0010] FIG. 3 is an exploded view of an adjustable frame in accordance
with an
embodiment;
[0011] FIG. 4 is perspective view of an illuminator system in accordance
with
another embodiment;
[0012] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an adjustable frame in accordance
with another
embodiment;
[0013] FIG. 6 is an exploded view of an adjustable frame in accordance
with another
embodiment;
[0014] FIG. 7a and 7b are illustrative views of the first and second
frame member
showing the adjustment of the aperture therein.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described herein
below with
reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, well-
known
functions or constructions are not described in detail to avoid obscuring the
disclosure in
unnecessary detail.
[0016] Unless defined otherwise, technical and scientific terms used
herein have the
same meaning as is commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to
which this
invention belongs. The terms "first", "second", and the like, as used herein
do not denote
any order, quantity, or importance, but rather are used to distinguish one
element from
another. Also, the terms "a" and "an" do not denote a limitation of quantity,
but rather
denote the presence of at least one of the referenced items. The terms such as
"front",
"back", "bottom", and/or "top", unless otherwise noted, are merely used for
convenience
of description, and are not limited to any one position or spatial
orientation. The term "or"
is meant to be inclusive and mean either or all of the listed items. The use
of "including,"
"comprising" or "having" and variations thereof herein are meant to encompass
the items
listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. The
terms "connected"
and "coupled" are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or
couplings, and
can include electrical connections or couplings, whether direct or indirect.
[0017] FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an illuminator system
with an
adjustable frame in accordance with an embodiment. The illuminator system
comprises an
adjustable frame 100 and an illuminator 10. As shown in Fig. 2, the adjustable
frame
comprises a panel 110 having an opening 111 therein, defining an edge 112
around the
opening; a frame member 120 slidably mounted on the edge 112 of the opening to
move
inward and backward so as to adjust a size of the opening. Fig. 1 shows a
status of the
frame member is moved inward to minimize the size of the opening 111, and Fig.
2 shows
a status of the frame member is moved backward to enlarge the size of the
opening 111.
The illuminator 10 is for being mounted inside the opening 111. The frame
member 120
has an elongated channel 121 thereon for receiving and moving relatively with
a fixing
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member 122 on the edge of the opening. The frame member 120 comprises a wall
plate
125 extending downwardly to cover the side of the opening 111.
[0018] In an embodiment, referring to Fig. 3, the opening 111 is
rectangle, preferably
square shaped, defining a first edge 113 and a second edge 114 on opposite
sides of the
opening, for mounting an illuminator, which is a square downlight in the
embodiment. The
frame member is a first frame member 120, and the adjustable frame comprises a
second
frame member 130. The first frame member 120 and the second frame member 130
are
mounted on the first edge 113 and the second edge 114 respectively. The first
frame
member 120 has two elongated channels 121, 123 at two side edges thereon for
receiving
and move relatively with two fixing members 122, 124 respectively on the first
edge 113.
The fixing members 122 and 124 comprises screws 1222, 1242 provided on the
first edge
113 respectively and butterfly nuts 1221, 1241 connecting with the screws
1222, 1242 for
fixing the first frame member 120 to the first edge 113 of the opening. The
second frame
member 130 has very similar structure with the first frame member 120. The
second frame
member 130 has two elongated channels 131, 133 at two side edges thereon for
receiving
and move relatively with two fixing members 132, 134 respectively on the
second edge
114. The fixing members 132 and 134 comprises screws 1322, 1342 provided on
the second
edge 114 respectively and butterfly nuts 1321, 1341 connecting with the screws
1322, 1342
for fixing the second frame member 130 to the second edge 114 of the opening.
[0019] In this embodiment, the frame member 120 and the second frame
member
130 are both elongated rectangle shaped to align with the first edge 113 and
the second
edge 114 of the square opening 111. The first frame member 120 and the second
frame
member 130 has a length slightly shorter than the length of the first edge 113
and the second
edge 114 of the opening 111, so as to fit in the opening.
[0020] The illuminator 10 is a downlight in the embodiment, which
comprises a
housing 11 and a light (not shown) disposed therein. The housing 11 comprises
two
resilient retainers 141,142 mounted on two sides on the back of the housing 11
for retaining
the housing 11 to the edges 113, 114 of opening of the adjustable frame.
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[0021] During the operation, the worker can loosen the butterfly nuts,
move the first
frame member and the second frame member, so as to change the relative
position of the
fixing members in the elongated channels. After putting the first frame member
and the
second frame member in the right position, the worker can fasten the butterfly
nuts to fix
the first frame member and the second frame member to the edge of the opening.
Then put
the back portion of downlight into the opening and retain the two resilient
retainers on the
edge of the opening.
[0022] In some other embodiment, the opening has other shapes, such as a
round-
shape, and the frame member has an arch shape which can align with the edge of
the
opening.
[0023] The adjustable frame further comprises a junction box 115 mounted
on the
panel 110 for connecting the wires of the illuminator 10 and the power line,
and two
brackets 116 mounted on two sides of the panel 110 for mounting the adjustable
frame with
the outside environment.
[0024] In another embodiment, referring to Fig. 4 of the drawings, the
illuminator
system comprises an adjustable frame 200 and an illuminator 10. Referring to
Figs. 5, the
adjustable frame comprises a panel 210 having an opening 211 therein, defining
an edge
212 around the opening, and a first frame member 220 and a second frame member
230
slidably mounted on the edge 212 of the opening. The first frame member 220
comprises
a first arm 221 and a second arm 223, and the second frame member 230
comprises a third
arm 231 and a fourth arm 233, wherein the first arm and the fourth arm
intersect and the
second arm and the third arm intersect forming an aperture 237 therein to zoom
in and out
S0 as to adjust the size of the opening 211.
[0025] The first arm 221 has a first elongated slot 222 at an end edge
thereof, the
second arm 223 has a second elongated slot 224 at an end edge thereof, the
third arm 231
has a third elongated slot 232 at an end edge thereof, and a fourth arm 233
has a fourth
elongated slot 234 at an end edge thereof, wherein the first elongated slot
and the fourth
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elongated slot overlap forming a first through hole 235, and the second
elongated slot and
the third elongated slot overlap forming a second through hole 236. A first
guider 238 and
a second guider 239 are provided in the first through hole and the second
through hole
respectively for guiding a movement of the first frame member 220 and the
second frame
member 230.
[0026] In an embodiment, the first frame member 220 is L-shaped, and
preferably
the first arm 221 and the second arm 223 are orthogonal. The second frame
member 230 is
L-shaped, and preferably the third arm 231 and the fourth arm 233 are
orthogonal. And the
opening 211 is rectangle defining a first edge 213, a second edge 214, a third
edge 215 and
a fourth edge 216 for mounting the first arm 221, the second arm 223, the
third arm 231
and the fourth arm 233 respectively. The first arm 221, the second arm 223,
the third arm
231 and the fourth arm 233 all comprises a wall plate 225 respectively
extending
downwardly to cover the four sides of the opening 211. In other embodiment,
the opening
211 has other shapes, such as a hexagon, and the first frame member and the
second frame
member are mounted around the edge of the hexagon opening.
[0027] Referring to Fig. 6 of the drawings, in the embodiment, a first
groove 241 is
provided on the panel 210 between the first edge 213 and the fourth edge 216
extending
along a diagonal line of the opening 211, and a second groove 242 is provided
on the panel
between the second edge 214 and the third edge 215 extending along the
diagonal line of
the opening, wherein the first guider 238 in the first through hole 235
extends into the first
groove 241 to slide along the first groove, and the second guide 239 in the
second through
hole 236 extends into the second groove 242 to slide along the second groove.
In another
word, the first groove 241 and second groove 242 are provided on the opposite
corners on
the edges of the rectangle opening 211.
[0028] The first guider 238 and the second guider 239 comprises a first
fastener 251
and a second fastener 252 respectively for fastening the first frame member
220 and the
second frame member 230 through the first groove and second groove to the
panel. The
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first guider 238 and the second guider 239 are screws. The first fastener 251
and the second
fastener 252 are butterfly nuts.
[0029] A first connector 243 is provided on the panel 210 between the
first edge 213
and the second edge 214 along another diagonal line of the opening 211, and a
second
connector 244 is provided on the panel 210 between the third edge 215 and the
fourth edge
216 along another diagonal line of the opening 211. A first slit 253 is
provided on the first
frame member 220 between the first arm 221 and the second arm 223 extending
along a
diagonal line of the aperture 237 for receiving the first connector 243; and a
second slit 254
is provided on the second frame member 230 between the third arm 231 and the
fourth arm
233 extending along a diagonal line of the aperture 237 for receiving the
second connector
244. When the first frame member 220 and the second frame member 230 move, the
first
slit 253 and the second slit 254 move relative to the first connector 243 and
the second
connector 244 respectively to guide the movement of the first frame member 220
and the
second frame member 230.
[0030] A third fastener 255 is provided on the first slit 253 for
fastening to the first
connector 243, and a fourth fastener 256 is provided on the second slit 254
for fastening to
the second connector 244. The third fastener 255 and the fourth fastener 256
are butterfly
nuts.
[0031] As shown in Fig. 7a and 7b, the aperture 237 formed in the first
frame member
and the second frame member becomes smaller. When mounting the downlight into
the
opening of the adjustable frame, the worker firstly loosens all the butterfly
nuts, to adjust
the first frame member and the second frame member to zoom in or out the
aperture 237,
and then fastens all the butterfly nuts to fasten the first frame member and
the second frame
member to the panel. And then put the downlight into the opening same with the
first
embodiment.
[0032] While there have been described herein what are considered to be
preferred
and exemplary embodiments of the present invention, other modifications of
these
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embodiments falling within the scope of the invention described herein shall
be apparent
to those skilled in the art.
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